


Fight Till the End

by Chereche



Series: Descendants Fanfics [10]
Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 17:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4755182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chereche/pseuds/Chereche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate version of the ending scenes of the movie, starting from the moment Maleficent freezes Fairy God mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Mal knew they were in serious trouble from the moment her mother managed to stun Fairy God Mother in a single move. She had always been the one the island villains had seemed most pensive about. For her to be defeated like this in a simple moment...either age had treated the light fairy unkindly, or her mother truly was - as she always claimed - the greatest and most powerful fairy that ever lived. That did not at all bode well for them, seeing that she was now hell bent on vengeance. Mal swallowed, trying to gather her courage. She was fairly certain that her mother would not be dissuaded from her goals by a simple request, especially now that she was off the island and free to wreak the years of havoc she had been dreaming about.

"Mother!" Mal called out, distracting her moments before she could replicate her spell and petrify everyone. Auradon's folks were really quite stupid, Mal decided. For all that they screamed and backed away, not a single one of them did the logical thing, which was, to run away. Mal knew her mother. She had her targets in sight for now - the wand and then Auradon's royalty. Perhaps she would throw Aubrey's family in as secondary targets. But, until her initial goals were quenched, they would be safe.

"Child," Maleficent crooned, swivelling to look at her, her face morphing into a semblance of pleasantness as she stared at the wand in her hand. "Let's try this again, okay? You give me the wand and I'll forget about your initial disobedience. Water under the bridge, I swear. So, give it here so my domination can begin."

"No way, mother," Mal retorted firmly, tightening her grip on the wand. "It does not belong to you. I won't let you use it for evil."

The wand, as if seconding her words, pulsed in her hand, sending a gradually building sensation of warmth upwards, like a gentle caress.

"Evil is who I am," Maleficent retorted, and, as if to emphasis her point, she flung a broad based spell in the general area of the crowd to their right.

"Evie!" Mal shouted, hoping that her instincts were right and that her friend could really do something preventative.

"Magic mirror hear me well, reflect that spell!" Evie commanded.

As they watched, a beam of sorts erupted from the mirror the blue haired teenager raised, intercepting the evil fairy's magic halfway before turning it upwards.

"Run!" Evie ordered as the twin beams hit the ceiling breaking it apart. Thankfully the audience listened, and managed to clear the area before the rubble hit the floor.

Maleficent made to attack again, but Mal interrupted her. "You don't have to do this mother," she said, trying to keep her voice firm. "We can just end this right now. Unfreeze Fairy Godmother and just go back to the island."

"Go back?" she shrieked, the orb of her wand flashing green, matching her anger. "After the years of torment I spent there? Of waiting for this very moment to have my revenge? You want me to go back child? Fine, I will. But not until I have razed Auradon to the ground and go back to free everyone else. Only then will I go back to the isle."

"I won't let you do that."

"Let me?" Maleficent said incredulously before cackling. "Auradon has changed you, and for the worst. I thought you had come up with an ingenious plan. Convinced that blubbering prince there," she said with a dismissive wave at Ben who was besides his parents, the now former queen clutching his arm, "that you were good so that you could grab the wand. But it wasn't pretend was it? Have you actually decided that you're going to take their side? After what they did to us?"

"You got what you deserved."

Maleficent shot forward, and suddenly was mere inches away from her. "I got what I deserved?" she asked, "what about you? What did you do to get sentenced to the island huh? You spent your entire miserable life there as well you know. What was your crime?"

Mal hesitated at that. Those words came dangerously close to the ones she herself used to think. For a moment Mal flashed back to the times she would deface the fliers of King Beast that were stuck around the isle with their stupid warnings of being good and having polite manners and all other, at the time, wholly ridiculous things. She swallowed, recalling now as she had then that she didn't deserve it, didn't deserve all the squalor and strife for something she had never done.

"Remember that child?" Maleficent crooned, her voice now persuasive. "They've made you suffer too. Give me that wand and we'll have revenge together."

It would be easy too, Mal realised, especially now that she recalled how these very people had at one point condemned her for what she had never, ever done. They had all condemned her to misery because of what the woman before her had done. It wasn't at all fair to her. Why should she help them now?

"MAL, DON'T!"

Ben's shout stopped her in her tracks, and she blinked, only now realising that her hand had slowly been extending itself towards her mother. She blinked again, and the cloud she had not even realised had fogged her mind cleared in seconds. Her mother had used persuasion on her.

"No!" she ground out, and flipped the wand around, thrusting it at her mother's chest. It reacted, and a burst of magic shot out, launching her back a few feet.

"I. Am. Good," Mal said, enunciating every word as the wand pulsed again. She felt it deeper this time, inside her very core. What on earth was it doing, she wondered, before ducking sideways to dodge a wave of energy from her mother.

Ben attacked then, ripping away from his mother's side. With a furious roar, he launched at the evil fairy, ignoring the shouts of warming around him. For a moment she thought his punch would land, but then, with a mere flick of her wrist, her mother repelled him, throwing him towards a wall.

"Evie!" Mal screamed again, even as her friend simultaneously said, "Got it!" before, with a quick incantation, created a pillow of air, that unfortunately, while cushioning could not fully diffuse the full force of the blow. Ben hit the wall, but what would have been a fatal force only seemed to knock him unconscious as he crumpled in a heap to the ground. People surrounded him in seconds; Lonnie, Aubrey and their families. Mal wanted to go to him as well, to ensure that he really was fine with every fibre of her being, but she had her own task to do now. She had to keep them all safe.

The wand pulsed suddenly in her hand, slightly painful now, and, while it startled her, it was not enough to make her drop it.

"You better turn that wand over to me now Mal," her mother told her, although there was no magically persuasion lacing her tone this time. "Wands aren't compatible with dissimilar types. That's a light wand; it isn't meant for you. Only someone with immense evil would be able to withstand the backlash of the magic running through it. Give it to me before it destroys you."

Mal smirked then. "It's not at all painful mother," she said, "it feels great actually. I can hold it all day. I guess that means I'm not evil at all, huh?"

Maleficent shrieked at that, a truly horrifying sound and, quicker than Mal could anticipate, a dark maroon light hit her, one that she was unfortunately all too familiar with.

A pained scream erupted from Mal as she dropped to her knees. This was her mother's favourite form of punishment, a full body assault that inflicted eons of pain within her body, but otherwise dealt her no real harm beyond being extremely shaky. It was her mother's preferred form of punishment, to be used at times when simply locking Mal away was a bit too inconvenient. Mal would admit it was quite effective. She really repeated whatever misdemeanour earned her that bout of punishment. It was a shame really that this time that would not be the case.

Mal, despite the pain and the groans she could not prevent waited patiently. Her mother would not keep her under the spell for much longer. She just needed to wait it out.

"That's enough out of you lady!"

She recognised the voice as Jay's. Seconds later, the spell ended. Panting heavily, she looked up to see Jay and her mother locked in a struggle for her staff. For all that he was muscular, and one of the strongest persons she knew, Jay seemed helpless against his mother. She felt a hand on her back; she flinched and turned defensively, but it was only Carlos, looking at her anxiously. "You okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet.

"I'll be okay," she assured him, "it's not my first time, ya know?"

"It shouldn't have been any time," Evie said, coming up beside her and stroking her shoulder. "You've gotten that before haven't you?"

"Yes," she admitted. There was no purpose in lying.

 "What are we going to do about her?" he asked, looking towards Maleficent. "We can't keep this up indefinitely and Fairy God Mother doesn't seem like she's going to unfreeze anytime soon."

"And none of these idiots will leave," Mal added, shooting a broad based glare at, well, everyone.

"Survival skills are truly lacking," Carlos agreed.

"Do you think you can protect them?" Mal inquired, "raise a shield or something?"

Evie nodded. "I think I've figured out how this mirror truly works. Mommy never used it for much more than her own reflections and questions, but this truly is a magical item in itself."

"Good. So that's what you'll do. Mother will keep trying to attack them because she knows it'll distract me. I need you to keep them safe, okay Evie?"

"Got it, boss," Evie agreed, "but first..."

Mal could only blink as a wave of magic washed over her. She felt her clothes rippling and looked down before groaning. "Really Evie?"

"Much better," she said with a proud smile. Quickly, she pressed a kiss to Mal’s cheek before running off to the side of the room to create a barrier.

Mal shook her head, briefly taking in her altered outfit. Her pale purple gown was gone, replaced now by moss green boots and gloves, black, fitted pants that reached to her knees, and a close fitting deep purple shirt opened partially to reveal a tong of leather wrapped around her neck.

Only her friend would give her a practical, yet flattering outfit to fight in.

She heard a pained sound and turned to see that Jay was truly now on the losing side of his struggle with her mother. They only had a minute more again at the most.

"You did bring your device here right?" she asked, giving Carlos her full attention.

"I did."

"Good. Do you think you can reverse it?"

Carlos frowned. "Make it close the barrier?" he inquired.

"Exactly," she responded, excited. "If you can get the barrier to close and I find a way to get my mother back there before you do that-"

"She'll be trapped!" Carlos said excitedly.

"Exactly."

"I'll need a few minutes," he told her.

"I can probably buy you fifteen."

"That'll have to do," he agreed. "Be careful Mal," he warned her, giving her a quick, tight hug, before running out the building, a barking Dude on his heels.

"Fifteen minutes huh," she sighed, "I am truly being optimistic today."

Mal turned around, refocussing on her mother now. She winced as, in that moment, her mother managed to overcome Jay, and much like Ben, he too was flung away, landing with a painful crunch. His arm seemed out of place, and in a moment she realised that his shoulder was more than likely dislocated. She breathed a minute sigh of relief when a few of his teammates reached out to pull him into the barrier Evie finally had erected. It was mostly translucent - every few seconds a blue ripple seemingly ran across the room, the only sign of its presence.

"That's my girl," Mal whispered, before tensing as her mother's attention turned to her.

"I grow tired of this Mal," she grated, and Mal was slightly gratified to see that she at least did not look one hundred percent in control as before. It was quite refreshing to at least see that she could be ruffled. "Good job Jay."

"Mal, you will cease this disobedience now."

"Aren't I supposed to be disobedient?" Mal quipped, "if I listen to you I'd be doing something good, and that'd be bad, right?"

Her cheek is met by a next punishing curse that she, once again, was unable to deflect. She screamed, but somehow managed to remain upright. She heard the sound of pounding as well as her name being called frantically. She didn't need to look to know that it was Ben, now once more awake and that, more than likely, he was trying to fight the barrier Evie had up. She wouldn't let that happen; Ben of all people had to be kept safe.

Her mother ended the attack, but followed it with an energy blast that flung Mal onto the ground. Now, that, she thought, was new, as she struggled back to her feet. Vaguely she noted that the wand was now pulsing rhythmically and that, the mild stinging she had felt before was gone, to be replaced by something wholly more comforting. From the corner of her eye she noticed that, although still looking determined, Evie was growing increasingly pale and sweaty. In that moment she recognised that, despite her promise, Evie would not be able to continue to perform such a great magically feet indefinitely. For both their sakes, Carlos needed to hurry. But then again, she acknowledged, it wasn't as if she had found a way to hold up her end of the battle herself.

"I've had enough of this," Maleficent grated out, after Mal barely managed to dodge her attack again. "You are nothing but a failure to me - you have always been. I should have eliminated you from the start!"

Her words stung - Mal would not pretend otherwise. But, similarly, she would not deny that she had not known it to be true. Mal was always a sign of shame for her mother - a reflection of a moment of weakness that left her with a half blood that diluted her precious familial bloodline. Her mother had to have that there would have been a possibility that Mal's more human nature would have taken precedence. Yes she had inherited, to some degree, her mother's penchant for major, but the one thing she definitely took from her father was his humanity. Being evil had never come naturally to Mal - it was something she had always had to strive for, and many times failed at. Being evil was not something inherent; even now Mal did not know what had happened to sway her mother so firmly from being a dark fairy to being a purely evil one. Perhaps she did not even want to know. She could never be it, regardless. A dark fairy was possible perhaps, if she ever fully mastered her magic, but evil? Never.

And boy was that a relief acknowledging it.

She told her mother as such in a speech most emboldened with courage she truly did not feel. But all that did was enrage her further.

"You of all people Mal Bertha," she declared, "shall pay!"

She let out a roar, one that reverberated around the room and was animalistic. Her mother's entire body rippled and seemed to bulge outward, before she transformed. Mal had only, before then, heard the legendary tale of her mother and her alternate form. After all, she was a descendant of the dragons; it was rumoured that that had been her birth form. But to see it in person, this dragon who towered at more than twenty feet tall, with scales that were said to be impenetrable. That was her mother in her full frightening glory. She looked ferocious, angry, and hell bent on revenge. And, unfortunately, Mal was her first target.

Her transformation caused pulses of power to radiate out from her, and in a panic Mal turned to Evie. Her friend slowly dropped to her knees, breathing heavily, with Doug (and more surprising Chad Charming) standing beside her, concerned looks on their faces. However, although the shield rippled dangerously, it held. But, Mal knew, Evie was unlikely to stand for much more than this.

Either way, the battle had to end, and soon.

"Do not touch me," Evie grated out, as Doug rested a hand on her shoulder. "Not now. Don't distract me unless you wanna die."

Evie's grating words, though furious, caused Mal to chuckle a bit. If she could still sass, she was probably going to last after all. She wouldn't discount her again.

It turned into a dodge game for a while. It seemed that, after so many years of being trapped in a humanoid form, her mother was a bit clumsy. Her first swipe at Mal missed by a good distance, and indeed, threatened to trip her. Knowing that it was basically a cat and mouse game, Mal ran, her mother slowly but surely getting control of herself and pursuing her. Detecting her presence grew increasingly easy though. At first Mal had to look behind to gauge her location and dodge attacks, but gradually, it seemed as if her senses were broadening. And so, when, her mother seemingly grew fed up of their game and released a torrent of fire, Mal instinctively knew it was coming and was able to safely safeguard herself behind a pillar that though twisted, withstood the attack.

As she breathed in deeply, Mal acknowledged the wand once again. It was glowing now; its silver length radiating a noticeable purple aura that led her to arch an eyebrow at it. Purple was a decidedly dark magic colour, she knew. Had she somehow infected the wand, and if so, how much trouble would she be in? The aura brightened, as if in response, and suddenly the Fairy God Mother's words from their last Remedial Goodness Class entered her mind. If they chose to be good, they would be good. Therefore, could she extend that and say that if she wanted to use dark magic for good things, it was possible?

"Only one way to find out," she muttered to herself, even as she ran out of her hiding space in the nick of time as, with a powerful strike, her mother caused it to crumble. She instinctively tucked herself into a roll as she tripped over a bit of rubble, landing on one knee.

Her mother turned, facing her, and her huge mouth opened. Mal was out in the open now, and she knew that her mother was about to incinerate her, perhaps trusting that the wand would resist the attack. This was it. One way or another it would be over with her next move. Trusting once again in her instincts, Mal trust the wand into the end, willing it to assist her. There was nothing for a moment. Her mother's flames erupted, rushing towards her. Then she felt it, a powerful rip from her very core and she changed.

The fire struck her, a full out assault but to Mal it felt like nothing but delicate licks, as if Dude had gotten bored of her napping and was playfully jostling her back to reality. The attack dissipated and Mal stood, unhurt. It was only when she heard the collective gasps of her audience that she realised that something was visibly different about herself.

But then again, she herself could sense that she was different. Everything was strange. Her hearing was amplified. It was actually pretty annoying but she could easily discern the racing heartbeats of everyone in the room, the way that Evie's breath was laboured and growing more and more fragile, as if she was truly on her last leg. Focussing on her, Mal actually felt her friend's deeply rooted fatigue and instinctively reached out to her, lending her strength. In seconds, Evie's vitals levelled out, and Mal felt, rather than saw when she rose to her feet again. The barrier had changed as well, Mal saw; it now alternated between rippling blue and purple.

"You make one hella cute dragon!" Jay called out, and Mal immediately focussed on him. His shoulder was sore, incredibly sore, but it seemed as if someone had managed to place it back into its socket.

"She's beautiful," Evie corrected and Mal could hear the pride in her voice.

She wondered if she could...

Focussing on Evie again briefly, Mal sought for her sight, and, for just a few seconds, although more than enough, she actually saw through Evie's eyes. She looked at herself.

She was perhaps a quarter of her mother's size, and, truly looked no way near as hideous as she did. Whereas her mother - who was now just staring at her with something akin to shock - was all scales, venomous drool and grunts and groans, Mal was different. She was completely smooth, her skin actually gleaming wherever light hit it. She was primarily purple with black undertones, and her teeth, unlike her mother's were pearly white. Her claws and the tip of her diamond shaped tail were green though. Overall, Mal liked what she saw.

Her mother growled again, but this time, Mal, with an effort, understood her. There was once again, a hint of pride in her voice, the likes of which Mal had spent so much time trying to garner. Her hisses translated to praise, as she acknowledged that, perhaps Mal truly was her daughter after all, and that, once she had been schooled properly and reminded of the importance of obedience to her mother, they would conquer the world together.

Mal responded in like. Her own dragon voice was nowhere near as gravelly; indeed, Mal wanted to believe that it was musical in quality as she decried her words. They would never be a team again; their paths had diverged.

Her mother used a next flame thrower, and, trusting herself, Mal opened her mouth wide and just exhaled deeply, gratified when her own lavender flames met her mother's mid-way. Momentarily, her flames were overcome by her mother's and she stopped, crouching down to protect her eyes. She hoped that Evie's barrier, not too far behind her, would be able to withstand what was coming. This time the flames stung, but still, it was not as catastrophically damaging as it could have been. The barrier too was undamaged.

Just as Mal made to move again, she heard in the distance a cry of success. It was Carlos; undoubtedly he had altered his machine. He would be back here in a few minutes. She just had to hang on until then. Maleficent switched tactics, aiming for a succession of quick fire balls. Some Mal intercepted with her own flames. Others she batted away. And the rest she just let hit the barrier, trusting Evie to protect everyone.

There was no way for her to use human speech in this form, at least not yet, and so she settled for looking at Jay for a long moment, before directing her tail at the door. It wasn't as easy as with Evie. Sending a picture of Carlos to Jay took considerable effort and she wondered if it was because of the fact that now her relationship with Evie had overpowered that which she had with Jay. Nevertheless, he got the message and escaped the barrier and headed to the door.

Carlos was not as street or fight smart as them. He would probably just run into the room holding the machine up and her mother would incinerate it and him in moments. Jay would keep them both safe.

That still didn't mean that they had a resolution for the last piece of their plan. How was Mal supposed to get her mother back to the island? With a frustrated grunt, Mal lamented on the fact that Fairy God Mother was still frozen. Wait! Dodging a fireball, Mal realised something; that the last time her mother had used a magical attack had been when she had transformed. Since then she had been relying solely on her dragon abilities; her claws, her size, her fire breath. Could Mal then assume that she could not use magic in that form? And more importantly, could Mal?

There was only one way to find out. After all, she still had the wand with her after all; she felt it within her. As her mother shot a slightly smaller fire burst at her, Mal didn't react with her own fire. Instead she willed herself to use magic instead - pure magic. She instantly felt drained as a burst of silver streaked purple magic erupted from her mouth. It was more effective that any blast of fire. Her attack sliced through her mother's fire like a warm knife through butter, and, just as Jay and Carlos entered the coronation hall, struck her. Mal didn't even wait to see the effect it had on her. She pressed on, sending out a next wave of magic, but this time urging it not to attack but rather to surround and capture.

As the ray reached her mother, it separated into several strands, surrounding her and interlacing. Finally, her mother was completely surrounded by it, a ball of pure magic, both dark and light, that she hoped she would not escape.

Her mother screamed, a sound of pure rage as she clawed, bit and threw fire at it. Mal persevered, pouring more and more energy into it, even as she sent a mental message to Evie. 

"Start the machine!" Evie ordered, her voice haggard, "Mal can't hold her much longer!"

The boys' quickly agreed and Carlos put the machine on the ground before starting tinkering with it. Within seconds it whirled into life.

"Mal says to launch it," Evie said next.

Boy this would be a useful skill if she could do it in human form as well, Mal decided as, trusting her cage for now, she stopped pouring magic into the barrier, instead quickly building it up within her. This would be a one shot effort. She shot one final message to Evie. The blue eyed teenager nodded, and finally, dropped the shield.

She lifted the mirror high above her head. "Magic mirror, small and bright, shine the way to end this fight!"

A beam of light erupted from it, passing through the gaping hole in the ceiling and landing, Mal hoped, on the isle. It was the only path for her to follow, and if Evie was wrong, they would all be doomed.

"Got it Mal!" Carlos shouted, even as Jay whooped as a whirring, mechanical sound echoed in the room, growing in intensity before it too erupted upwards in waves. "The barrier's starting to close!"

"My turn then," Mal thought as she released the magic she had been storing, this time propelling it forward and then upwards.

Even as Mal's mother roared, undoubtedly trying to scare Mal enough for her attack to dissipate, it hit the orb lifting it and sending it speeding along the trajectory of Evie's light. Mal gave it her all, willing her power to last the distance. It seemed to go on forever until Carlos called out "Something hella powerful just passed the barrier Mal!"

Mal stopped her attack there, knowing that, without a doubt, it was her mother.

"The barrier?" Evie inquired, running towards them.

"It's closing in five...four...three...two...it's done! She's trapped on the island again."

Jay shouted in glee then, a sound quickly mirrored by the audience in the room. Mal had completely forgotten about them at that point so the sound startled her.

She sensed Fairy God Mother being unfrozen as she crouched down, completely exhausted at this point. She breathed deeply, only now recognising her own fatigue. It was deeply rooted and not something she could ignore. "Change back," Mal told herself, using her last bit of power to will herself back to her human form. It worked, and she felt herself sink back into her regular form.

"Mal!" Evie cried, as she fell forward immediately.

She did not hit the ground; Jay was there to catch and lift her into his arms immediately.

"I gotcha," he told her softly.

She could only look up at him, blinking slowly. It was the only thing she had the energy to do.

Evie's face loomed over her, concern clear on her face, and, with her senses still seemingly slightly dragon-ic in nature, Mal sensed the impending approach of everyone in the room. It was too much - she didn't want it, and as she met Evie's eyes she tried to convey that to her.

"She wants to go," Evie said, "right now."

"Rest easy Mal," Jay told her, holding her the slightest bit closer, "we've got you now. You're safe."

It was the last thing Mal heard as she finally, thankfully, surrendered to unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Mal woke slowly, so slowly that she truly was not certain when she passed the divide between restfulness and reality. She was surrounded by comforting warmth and softness. Opening her eyes she was grateful that the room’s lights seemed to be dimmed, or else they would have stung. The decor was lavish - by far the most lavish thing she had ever seen, which was saying something since she had believed that nothing could trump the beauty of Auradon High.

She was on a bed, a considerably large one if her eyes were to be believed. She didn't for a second though recognise where she was. She felt as if she had slept for a year, but she was not the least bit rested. Indeed her entire body felt sore in a way she had never experienced before, not even after tremendous physical activity. For a moment she had a profound fear that she had done something to truly damage herself permanently. She hoped that that was not the case. The fact that she could barely summon the energy to raise her head off the bed was enough to cause her to worry.

The mere act of turning her head to the side proved to be particularly difficult, but she was gratified, and deeply so that she managed to do the act because she saw that Evie was curled up in a chair beside the bed, asleep. Mal decided that it was best to let her sleep for now.

She continued to take stock of herself. Now that she was focussing on solely her body, she could feel it, like a continuous ripple beneath her skin. Magic. Raw magic of a variety she had never experienced before. She wondered if it was the fact that she exerted herself so much that was responsible for its activeness. It doesn't feel uncomfortable though, just restless, as if it was trying to but failing to fully synthesis within her. She had the feeling though that, with time, it would and all would be right within her again.

She managed to shift slightly - not too much - but she felt it, a movement against the centre of her forehead. Although it took her a while to manage, she eventually found herself fingering what felt to be a pendant on a chain wrapped around her head. She was sure that there was a fancier name for the item of jewellery than she could come up with. She wanted to, but lacked the ability to remove it and examine it further. Her curiosity would wait - she was certain that Evie would show it to her more fully whenever she woke up.

She contemplated sleeping again. What else was there to do in a mostly silent room with an equally unresponsive Evie? But, after a few minutes of trying she gave it up for a lost cause. She was hungry and thirsty as well after all, and, for the moment, it seemed as if Evie was her only respite against it. She called Evie's name, shocked by the fragile raspiness of her tone. It takes a while, she was not even sure how long, but finally Evie's forehead wrinkled adorably and she opened her eyes. She looked around herself, dazed for a moment, before settling on Mal.

"Mal!" she gasped, straightening up immediately. "You're awake?"

"Hey," she returned softly. Any other statement was halted as her friend moved closer and she realised that Evie's hair was no longer pure blue. It was laced with purple. "Evie?"

"Oh that," she said dismissively, flicking a lock over her shoulder. "You should have seen it immediately after. I could have passed for your twin! It's lightening though, so don't worry about it. I mean, purple's definitely your colour, but I can make anything work. It'll be completely gone in a week or so."

"How did you get it?"

"That's your fault," Evie told her with a small grin even as she moved to adjust her position on the bed, leaving her more upright. She poured her a glass of water before she spoke again. "Fairy God Mother says you fed some of your magic to me during the fight. It affected me physically as well. Your magic is slowly bleeding out of me which is why my hair's gradually normalising."

"I made you a Fairy?"

"Temporarily," Evie agreed, "well, unless all your power doesn't leave me which also is a possibility. I've actually been able to do light magic now and the mirror's even more responsive than it's ever been before."

"Wait, how long have I been sleeping?"

"Six days," Evie told her, resuming her sleep, "although Fairy God Mother said you'd be asleep for two weeks minimum giving how much magic you expended. I'm not even sure you're truly awake right now. Your eyes are so glassy."

"How have I been surviving?"

"She left some sort of capsule thing for us to feed you. Apparently it's a regulator of sorts. It's helping to manage all the magics within you."

"Magics? Plural?"

"Yeah."

Mal paused for a moment, considering. "I really turned into a dragon, didn't I?"

"A magnificent dragon," Evie gushed. "They managed to record the entire thing. You were great, Mal, so great."

"We all were."

"Yeah well, we helped too," she agreed. "I'm not the only one whose changed physically though. Look at your hands, Mal."

Mal did, lifting them to the light. She blinked, realising that there were designs running up her hands; faint yet noticeable. They were silver and intricate, and oddly familiar.

"This looks like the wand's pattern," she said, after a moment.

"Exactly," Evie agreed, sitting on the bed besides her and cupping her right hand in both of yours. "Your eyes are rimmed silver as well and your hair is streaked too. It looks good, don't worry."

"How did this happen?"

"You absorbed the wand," Evie told her simply. "The moment you took the wand and it didn’t backfire on you like it did with Jane meant that you and the wand were compatible. It started merging with your magic then, and when you transformed, it melded into the process. It's a part of you now."

"So how do we get it out?" Mal demanded, trying and failing to pull her hand from Evie's grasp.

"It's a part of you," Evie repeated, "there is no getting it out. It's why I said you have magics in you. Light and dark magic is melding within you even as we speak Mal. Surely you feel different?"

"I do," she confirmed, recalling her own questioning thoughts to herself when she had first awakened.

Mal leaned back, unable to sit up any longer. "Tell me what happened?

"I don't know much past that Mal. That's all she's really figured out so far. The wand and you were compatible and in your time of greatest need, it leant you the strength you needed. She doubts that now that it’s so firmly infused it'd leave you. Perhaps not until it senses its next owner. She even thinks that it may become a hereditary thing, and pass on to your descendants. You're still biologically a half-fairy, by the way, but thanks to the wand, you now have full magical potential."

There was nothing Mal could say to that.

"And the boys?" she asked.

"They're with King-Father Beast on the isle. That's his new title now by the way. Queen Belle can keep her title until Ben is married, but that's the king's."

"They're on the isle?" she gasped.

"She is," Evie confirmed, "We did a good job of getting rid of your mom, but we also landed the isle with a rampaging dragon. She spent enough time here that that barrier didn't immediately sap all her remaining magic, and well, she went on the war path. It took them and half of the King's forces two days to stamp out the violence that erupted, and after that, Ben asked them to stay on."

"Why?"

"To immediately implement some changes. He's sent barges over with real food for one, and he wants a list by the end of the week of all the island's residents. He's going to oversee the crimes of the originals and see if what they've done is truly deserved. As for the descendants, he's sourcing out long term housing to bring all the kids over."

"He's purging the island?"

"Yes," Evie said, an odd quality to her tone, "he's going to give everyone a chance to be good. Does who fail will be sent back for long-term rehabilitation, but Mal, I really think he wants to close the island down entirely."

"That's unbelievable."

"I guess we've proven that all the kids deserve a chance."

"They do," she agreed. "I'm glad Ben can see that. Does the public agree though?"

"The majority do. We've proven ourselves to be heroes. They're going to allow others to prove themselves just as we were allowed the chance too. Would you believe Chad asked me out?"

"Prince Charming? Tell me you said no?"

"Immediately," she said with a grin. "Doug tripped him for good measure."

"That's my girl," Mal praised. "Now, do you think you can get me some food? I'm starving."

*

Three days had passed since Mal's initial awakening, and she was not afraid to say that she was bored out of her mind. She could not leave the bed for more than a few minutes at a time, and since she was forbidden to participate in any 'stimulating' activities for a while yet, the only source of entertainment she had beyond Evie were books. By her nature, Mal had little patience for the written word. She appreciated their value, but she much preferred to hear the stories of other people, to tease lessons from them than to seek morals from stained pages. Nevertheless, with a lack of other amusements, she had had no choice but to revert to one of her less enjoyable activities.

She was currently seated on one of the huge fluffy couches in the room, mostly thinking if she were entirely honest. She was in the family wing of Ben's castle - Evie had told her that yesterday - and Mal was not at all sure how she interpreted that turn of events. Evie had said that after Ben had thwarted their attempt to escape (although to where none of them could say even to this day) he had brought them all here. Only Mal was in this private wing though, and while Evie gently teased her about that fact, Mal herself was just confused by the entire thing.

Ben's mother had visited her the day before, and Mal had had to deal with the embarrassment of the woman personally assisting her in refreshing herself and even neatening her hair for her. Only Evie had had that privilege previously, and by the time the queen had finally left her, Mal was a red-faced mess. The entire thing, she decided with a mild pout, was the outside of enough, and were it not for the fact that the simplest of spells at this point would immediately return her to the land of sleep, Mal would have spelled herself away from here already.

She would complain to the next person who walked through that door, she decided. Except that that person was Ben.

He seemed as surprised to see her as was she. Mal blushed darkly after a moment, recalling that Evie said that the king visited her every afternoon, and stayed by her side for hours on end. Sometimes he slept in the same chair Evie did. Other times he worked through the paperwork that seemed never-ending now that he actually had that crown on his head. And still, most frequently apparently, he just sat and spoke to her, catching her up on all the things he had accomplished in the day.

"Your majesty," she whispered moving to rise.

That broke him out of his stupor. "No, don't get up Mal," he ordered crossing the room in quick strides to gently press her back against the cushions. "I'll admit I'm surprised to see you awake."

She didn't answer. He sat down beside her, closer than she would have anticipated, and shortly cupped her cheek. Any traces of embarrassment fled her in that moment at the affectionate gesture. Her eyes drifted close as she took in the warmth of his hand, and the gentle way he ran his thumb along her cheek. She never felt more cared for than when he did this.

"Good girl," he whispered, pleased by her actions.

The barest trace of a smile tugged at her lips, and a sound close to a mewl escaped her when she felt his lips press against her forehead. She moved, more on instinct than anything else, and he allowed her. Momentarily, Mal was snuggled into his chest with his arms wrapped securely around her.

"I'm glad you're safe," she said after a moment of just inhaling and memorising his scent.

"You kept me safe," he reminded her. "You have my eternal thanks for that."

"Couldn't very well have left Auradon without a king," she quipped. "But I would not have liked it if you had been hurt."

"Watching you being hurt was the worst thing I have ever experienced," he admitted, and his arms tightened the slightest. "Your shrieks..."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm not usually so vocal. Auradon weakened me."

Mal felt the king stiffen. "Mal?"

"Hmm?"

"She's done that to you? Before I mean?"

Mal frowned at the hesitancy in his tone, and twisted so that she could look up at him, their eyes inches apart. "How else does a mother punish her recalcitrant child?"

A look of deep sorrow settled in Ben's eyes before he bent and kissed her forehead again before tucking her beneath his chin.

"No wonder you didn't know what love feels like," he lamented. "Mal that is nothing less than abuse what you've experienced."

Mal didn't respond; she really did not want to talk about that, nor her mother. Ben, thankfully, sensed it and did not press the matter.

"All of Auradon is grateful to you," he said instead. "I am grateful to you. What you and your friends accomplished was no easy task. You all will be rewarded justly as soon as everything fully settles down."

"Didn't do it for a reward Bennie-boo."

He laughed at that. "Nevertheless, Mal, good deed bring good rewards, and you four were magnificent. I'm going to restore Evie to her familial heritage. Snow White won’t be happy with me because it'd make Evie a contender for queen, but that's not a problem for me to deal with."

"Princess Evie," Mal mulled. "She'll like that."

"And does Princess Mal like her title?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, slightly incredulous.

"I don't think the population will settle for anything less for you, Mal. All four of you will be made royals and all the associated rights bestowed on you."

"I'm no princess, Bennie-boo," she retorted.

Ben chuckled at the venom in her tone, but did not relent. "Consider it practice for your future title," he whispered to her when she pulled back to glare at him. Mal's brow furrowed in confusion, and, when the look didn't pass, Ben snorted, and gave her a next kiss, this time to the temple before snuggling her close again. "You'll understand in time, sweetheart," he said into her scented hair.

"Evie said you gave me this pendant thing," she murmured eventually.

"It's been in my dad's family for generations," he explained, fingering it lightly. "The ring just didn't seem like enough after all you did. It looks good on you."

Mal preened minutely under the praise. Evie was used to it. But for her, compliments, especially about her appearance, were few and far apart. "I'll treasure it always," she promised. "I'll never take it off."

"I'm glad," he returned, "I like seeing it on you and knowing that I put it there."

The edge of possessiveness to his tone curled warmly within her and she relaxed further into his embrace.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

The inactivity lulled her, and soon enough lethargy settled on her and Mal found herself trying and failing to hide her yawns.

"Let's get you to bed my precious girl," Ben told her softly, suiting actions to words by rising and easily lifting her into his arms.

She didn't protest; it was nice to be cradled like this, and she stayed pliant as he deposited her between the sheets before tucking them in tightly around her.

He sat at the edge of the bed, and gently ran his fingers through her hair. "Sleep as long as you like," he told her, "You still have a lot of recovering to do."

"Are you going to stay?" she asked, even as she felt her eyes drift close.

"I will," he promised. "Go to sleep, my precious Mal. I will watch over you; it's my turn to keep you safe."

 


End file.
